FEELING RIGHT AT HOME AT BAKERE CAFE

            I've never been one to go for fine dining. I really much prefer, simple, homey comfort food, especially when done right. I recently discovered one such restaurant that epitomizes everything I love about comfort food, almost to the point where I felt the menu was developed specifically for me in mind. 

         Guys, I'm really excited to tell you all about one of my favorite new restaurants of 2017, Bakere Cafe! 

THE PICKIEST EATER VLOG: BANH NAM OPENS AT PODIUM MALL

         My friend Steph and I have been trying to find time to meet up, but schedules seem to always get in our way. One day, I was invited by What Mary Loves to the opening of the latest branch of Banh Nam at Podium Mall, so I asked Steph to come with me since I wasn't so sure if I'd be able to finish those veggie loaded Banh Mi's all by myself! 

BEEFY'S NEW YORK GRILL: A BITE OF THE BIG APPLE AT LAGUNA!

   I rarely find myself down South, which I know is sad because there are tons of places to discover from BF Homes, all the way down to Tagaytay.. Further even! However a restaurant in Laguna opened late last year, which piqued my curiousity. A quick glance at Beefy's New York Grill Facebook page showed insane looking burgers and dawgs, that was more than enough to get my taste buds excited!

    So one fine Sunday, some of my foodie friends and I hopped on to Food in the Bag's car and made our (surprisingly) smooth trek to Solenad 3 in Nuvali, Laguna!  

TIPPLE & SLAW: SANDWICH HEAVEN AT BGC FORUM

           As soon as the itinerary for my trip to the United States a few months ago was confirmed, the very first thing I did was map out the places I would eat out, using one of my all time favorite shows, "Man V. Food" as a point of reference. Though I haven't written it yet in my blog, I am proud to say I was able to visit three places that have been featured in the show! 

      In case ya'll don't know, Man V. Food is what inspired me to start my blog. After watching an episode for the first time (Season 2: Episode 4, San Francisco), something inside me woke up, and I realized that what Man V. Food Host Adam Richman was doing - Perhaps, not the food challenges, but the going around to different places, and sharing my eating adventure with people - is what I wanted to do. 

    Which is why, as I entered Tipple & Slaw and saw a photo of Adam Richman up on the wall, I knew I had come to the right place for lunch. 

MAD MARK'S: THE MADNESS CONTINUES AT GLORIETTA 5

            My first visit to Mad Mark's was a memorable one. You throw in a Beef and Chicken Sandwich in front of me the size of a battleship, and yes, that will definitely leave a mark in my memory for ages to come. Although the first branch had a cool, hole-in-the-wall vibe to it, the popularity of Mad Mark's food made it impossible for their progress to remain stagnant. Considering its fan base, it was only a matter of time that Mad Mark's would expand, and go to a more mainstream venue. 

   

    

  Sometime in October, the inevitable happened.. Mad Mark's opened their second branch at Glorietta 5 in Makati. I always knew that they would go mainstream, but I didn't think they would go THAT mainstream hehe. 

       Agent Smith said it best:

          

IHOP'S NEW GRIDDLE MELTS!

          Though its still rather busy during peak hours, the IHOP craze has seemed to die down. The lines are nowhere near as ridiculous as it was during the first few months of their operation. 

        So what does IHOP do to make sure their brand stays fresh? Introduce new products of course! 

         Starting off with their new Griddle Melts!

THE CHEESE STEAK SHOP: THE NEW STUFF!

             Not content with being known as one of the best places to get some of the best classic Cheese Steaks in town, the Cheese Steak Shop has whipped up some new items to their menu that'll keep your mouth watering! 

    But what could they have done to provide something new to the straight forward melted cheese steak sandwich? 

     I zoomed to Cheese Steak Shop's Amorosolo Branch in Makati to find out!    

RAFFLES HOTEL LONG BAR: POWER LUNCH DONE RIGHT

         

        Earlier this year, a few food blogger friends of mine and I were invited to Spectrum at Raffles Hotel. Unfortunately, Rina couldn't join me, so I had to handle my own photography.. And you know what happens when I do that. As expected, the photos were putrid, and I didn't feel It would do justice to the beauty of Spectrum for me to use it. Thankfully, Rina saved my ass (yet again), and went to the place and took new photographs so I'll be posting about Spectrum soon.

        But before I get into that, I wanted to share with you a Power Lunch that we had over at Spectrum's neighboring restaurant.. The Long Bar.

PIZZA HEAVEN AT NOLITA BONIFACIO HIGH STREET

     Time and time again, I often repeat my frustration with the culinary wonder known as "Pizza". I love those glorious oven baked pies, but more often than not, it triggers my hyper acidity,and the results aren't pleasant. As much as I would love to be able to indulge in a stunning, thin crust pizza, topped with a double helping of mozzarella cheese and bacon, ham, and pepperoni, I would never do so at the expense of possibly having a brown baby boy in the middle of an important meeting. 

     Which is why It took me so long to visit Nolita. 

     A couple of months ago, as I made plans to meet up with my college friends, I suggested to my friends that we check out Nolita, thinking that I could taste one of their pizzas and realize that it wasn't something I would crave for, and my tummy would not be in jeopardy. Basically get the whole thing over with.

    As my teeth dug into my pizza, the first thing that came into my mind was, "Uh-oh".  

SECOND STOP AT THE CHEESESTEAK SHOP

         A few months ago, I was absolutely heartbroken when I found out that The Cheese Steak Shop would be closing the doors of their branch along Arnaiz Avenue - The same street wherein I work. Although it still was quite a bit of a walk to get there, the mere thought of being unable to visit their restaurant for some of their mouthwatering Cheese Steaks nearly brought tears to my eyes. I had heard that they would be moving to a new branch at The Fort.

        The Cheese Steak Shop would be my "Go-to" place whenever I need I need a quick solution to a client dropping by, and we need a no frills, yet impressive meal for them to dine on while they're in our office. You wouldn't think a simple sandwich would be so well received, but then again, their Cheese Steak isn't just a "simple sandwich".

       Last year, when I heard they were moving, I decided to make the walk to the Cheese Steak Shop to say one last goodbye. With a heavy heart, I ordered my Bacon Cheese Steak (Default), and let out a deep sigh. I couldn't take it any more, so I as I was standing at the counter, I couldn't help but share my feelings with the cashier. 

      I said, "I can't believe you guys are moving to The Fort! It's so far away from my office! I really don't want you guys to leave!" Jokingly, I even offered, "Let me talk to your boss! I'll convince her to let you guys stay!". 

     She smiled and said, "Actually Sir, we're just moving to another branch in Amorsolo Avenue. When you get to the stoplight of Amorsolo and Arnaiz, just turn right. Go a few meters down, and you're there!". 

     All of a sudden it hit me. The new location is actually nearer to my office then this branch was. 

     So naturally my next response was, "Can I help you pack?"

THROUGH THE TUNNEL TO APPLEBEE'S!

            Back in September, during our Oreo Trip to New York, Rina and I ventured across the river to New Jersey, all on our own during a free night, just to visit Rina's Aunt Eva and Uncle Tony. Tita Eva is like a second mother to Rina, so she was determined to meet up with her, no matter what. Of course that meant that my mission was to figure out how to get there via the subway. 

       Thankfully, it was actually quite easy, since all we had to do was get down on the very last stop (I forgot what train though hehe), where Tita Eva and Uncle Tony was waiting to take us shopping at the Jersey Gardens. 

       All that shopping caused me us to work up an appetite, so before we headed back to New York, Tita Eva asked us where we wanted to go for Dinner. She rattled off names of restaurants, and something I immediately recognized was "Applebees".

HUNGRY FOR SOME HOAGIES!

           When choosing a place to eat at, Rina often needs to make it clear to me that she always NEEDS rice in her lunch and dinner meals. She never hesitates to remind me that, because she knows very well that because of my strong Western influence, I'm perfectly all right with having a sandwich for lunch. However, it's going to have to be a pretty bad ass sandwich. I'm not talking about a slice of ham and cheddar on Gardenia White bread. That's totally fine for an afternoon snack, mind you, but its not filling enough for me to consider it as a meal. 

      I'm talking about a large sub on a baked roll or french baguette, stuffed with different deli meats and cheeses (No veggies please, save for caramelized onions, of course)... Popularly known in the Philadelphia area as a "Hoagie". 

     Where could I find such a magnificent creation without having to travel all the way to the "City of Brotherly Love"? I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say, the restaurant "Hoagies" in SM North Edsa Annex would be a good start. 

I'M HAVING WHAT SHE'S HAVING AT KATZ'S DELICATESSEN IN NEW YORK

              As I had mentioned before, one of my goals when I left for New York, was to go eat at as many famous places as I could. Places I had seen in my favorite food shows, such as Man V. Food and No Reservations. Well It was already my third day, and I had already been to three phenomenal places that I had seen in different food shows.

         The first was Hop Kee, which I had seen in Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, while the second and third ones, Baohaus and the popular burger chain, Shake Shack, were both restaurants that I had just seen during my plane ride to New York in another Anthony Bourdain Show, "The Layover:New York". 

         Though I have a deep respect for the work of Mr. Bourdain, I wouldn't say that he is my biggest food show idol. I am actually a huge fan of the man that inspired me to start this Blog.. Man V. Food's Adam Richman. After watching one episode of Man V. Food, I felt an epiphany.. A surreal moment of clarity that made me realize, despite my lack of knowledge on food, and legendary pickiness, being a food blogger was my destiny.

        So even before leaving for New York, I re-watched the New York Episode of Man V. Food. After that my mission was clear.. 

        If there is one place every foodie must go to when they're in New York.. It's the iconic Katz's Delicatessen.. The home of the best sandwich I have ever eaten in my entire life. 

WHEN IN CEBU: FUDGE RESTAURANT!!

       Cebu has undoubtedly bloomed into a full blown metropolis. Gone are the days when Cebu would be considered a city in the province. Give or take a few things, there aren't very many things in Manila that you can't get in Cebu. 

      However, when I took Rina out to a late night out on the town, I found it rather odd that a lot of establishments closed by around 9pm.. Just like the used to in the good old' days. 

      By no means am I a night owl. I don't drink, smoke or dance, so I totally feel out of place at bars and clubs. But I do, sometimes, get attacked by the late night munchies (no drugs involved), and it was a little bit disappointing that there weren't very many restaurants opened at the "ungodly" hour of 9pm. 

        As we were heading back to Portofino Beach Resort, we came across a  cafe called, "Fudge". I remembered seeing it in some blog posts, and my brother, who had joined us, told me that he tried something quite interesting there.. "The Sweet Potato Cake". 

     More importantly, It was open!

MAN UP AT MAD MARKS!

            I've been curious about what exactly it is about the Kapitolyo area that just made it suddenly boom with some very interesting "Hole In The Wall" restaurants. Ever since Charlie's Grind and Grill exploded unto the burger scene, an eclectic selection of food choices have popped up in the area, making it somewhat of a food lover's Mecca. 


        Though Kapitolyo is actually quite near my place, I've never gotten a chance to go to any of their restaurants just yet.. Something I knew I had to rectify right away. I actually made a list of the restaurants in that area that I wanted to try, and ranking high on the list was Mad Mark's.  

SMILE AND SAY... SANDWICHEESE!

          Are you one of those people that can't have a meal without rice?  Rina and her sister Chaikka, as well as a lot of my officemates absolutely refuse to have lunch or dinner without it. Me, on the other hand, I'm completely ok with a sandwich or burger for lunch. Maybe it's my fondness for bread that helps create a sense of satisfaction in my meals with a sandwich in lieu of rice, because sometimes, I actually even prefer it to a rice meal. I'm always on the lookout for a good sandwich, which is why I was immediately drawn to places such as Chuck's Deli, The Cheese Steak Shop and Elbert's Cheese Steaks.  

      I found out that one of my (and it seems everyone's) favorite restaurants, Bannaple, spawned a younger sibling right beside its first Katipunan branch, called "Sandwicheese", and I was immediately intrigued.  

       So last Saturday, after we took Baby Rain to the doctor for her check up, my tummy started grumbling. I told Rina that I wanted to check out Sandwicheese. 


      Because she was taking care of Rain whilst we were in the car, she wasn't really paying attention and she said, "Yes, yes, I want to go there." I asked her if she heard what I said because she was distracted with Rain and she said, "All I heard was 'Cheese'".

A CHUCKIN' GOOD TIME AT CHUCK'S DELI!

This is my first post from my new home, www.thepickiesteater.net.

I'm gonna miss my old blogspot address (You'll still be re-directed), 

but it was time to move on into some new digs..

I'm looking forward to making some major strides with this blog, so it was important that I make the move already..

still going to be the same level of pickiness though, I promise :)

On that note:

Getting ready to get all chuck'd up!

     After our first trip to the doctor to get Rina's ultrasound, we passed by Market Market to do a little grocery shopping. I was contemplating going to Brother's Burger in High Street to do a review, (Which after going to the "older" Greenhills branch, I now wish I did) but i stopped in my tracks when I remembered a place I had read about a couple of weeks back, and was eager to try- Chuck's Deli.

    Like virtually all red blooded males, I looooveee huge sandwiches, so when I heard about Chucks Deli opening up at Serendra with sandwiches so huge, they call them "SLABwiches",  I knew I had to see (and taste) them for myself! 


    So it was a sunny Thursday afternoon, when the three of us, (Me, Rina, and my baby still in my wife's tummy) had a late lunch all together for the first time as a family, at Chuck's Deli.